Nephi Spoke the Truth

Nephi was speaking to the crowd that had gathered by his garden gate as he was praying. There were different people there, including some people who were part of the secret band of Gadianton, who had done some pretty bad things, including the murder of past leaders, to try to manipulate people and situations to their favor.

These people didn't like that Nephi was talking about some of their corruption and wickedness, so they tried to incite some negativity among the crowd.

"For behold, Nephi had spoken unto them concerning the corruptness of their law; yea, many things did Nephi speak which cannot be written; and nothing did he speak which was contrary to the commandments of God." (Helaman 8:3)

Why would this be such a bad thing for Nephi to do? To call people to repentance and expose the wickedness of the people. Well, here's the answer:

"And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; nevertheless, they durst not lay their own hands upon him, for they feared the people lest they should cry out against them." (Helaman 8:4)

This is often the case for the righteous. You try to bring the truth to light and share it with others, and there will always be people who oppose what you are saying. In fact, often, they will be so opposed to what you are saying that you will get threatened and maligned. Luckily, I haven't been put into this situation, especially to the extreme of when people were trying to threaten me harm. However, I have been in the situation where I've had to have some difficult conversations with people based on their behavior. It's not easy to tell people they need to repent. However, my experience has been that when you tell someone that out of love and respect for them, they will often feel the genuine feelings that led you to tell them in the first place, and your relationship will be strengthened rather than diminished.

God loves all of His children. He wants all of them to be happy, and He knows that there's only one real way to true happiness, and that is through repentance and through His plan. I know he made that plan for me and I hope when I am faced with opportunities to call people to repentance, I can be bold enough to just come out and say it, without fear.